I have a direct fired mash tun on my brewstand and love it, but I also use a cooler mash tun inspired by Denny Conn that I still use today and love the simplicity of it.

When I talk to new homebrewers just starting out with all-grain brewing, I always recommend a cooler mash tun because of it's ease of use and it' ability to make damn good beer. Once you've mastered the cooler mash tun and batch sparging, and you decide that you want more versatility, then move into a direct fired or other type of heated tun.

How To Brew is the only book you'll ever need, IMO. Everything else you need to know you can find online or through the many forums. Actually, as noted, that book is available online as well.

The third edition is less than $20 on amazon IIRC. Support Mr Palmer. After all he has given to the homebrewing community it would be a real shame to infringe on his copyright by distributing illegal versions of his book.

« Last Edit: April 20, 2011, 06:33:42 PM by denny »

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That cooler will be good. You'd have fewer problems if you mashed in a blue one, but nothing serious.

My first thought on looking at the picture. That red will suck the efficiency right outta your mash.

Why will it suck the efficiency out of it?What my real question should be since i really only paid 10 bucks for it and all my other parts and such can be transfered to a different cooler later on and i want to get right into all grain b/c i have had the itch for like a year now will this cooler for the time being lol?

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Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus ViciBy the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the Universe

That cooler will be good. You'd have fewer problems if you mashed in a blue one, but nothing serious.

My first thought on looking at the picture. That red will suck the efficiency right outta your mash.

Why will it suck the efficiency out of it?What my real question should be since i really only paid 10 bucks for it and all my other parts and such can be transfered to a different cooler later on and i want to get right into all grain b/c i have had the itch for like a year now will this cooler for the time being lol?

I have the exact same cooler, but it doesn't hold in the heat very well. I have to wrap it in packing blankets to keep temps up, and I still lose 5-10* in a 75-90 minute mash. I will be buying the extreme cooler soon.

That cooler will be good. You'd have fewer problems if you mashed in a blue one, but nothing serious.

My first thought on looking at the picture. That red will suck the efficiency right outta your mash.

Why will it suck the efficiency out of it?What my real question should be since i really only paid 10 bucks for it and all my other parts and such can be transfered to a different cooler later on and i want to get right into all grain b/c i have had the itch for like a year now will this cooler for the time being lol?

Yeah, we're just kidding. The cooler you got will work just fine.

I was gonna comment on the colour too but I figured I haven't been doing this long enough to get into the colour debate. Should we discuss "Improving Efficiency Through Boiling" as well?

I started out homebrewing in college too. Just don't take 20 years off like I did.